340B Program

An essential resource for communities, patients with lower incomes and for safety-net providers

UCHealth is the largest provider of Medicaid care in Colorado, serving about 30% of our state’s hospitalized Medicaid patients. Among the care facilities we operate are the state’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a regional burn center, high-risk birth centers, and numerous specialty clinics that provide advanced care for patients throughout our multi-state region.

UCHealth’s lifesaving care is available to all of our patients, regardless of their ability to pay.

340B: A federal program that provides discounts on drugs, expanding access to care

Savings generated by the program make it possible for us to provide advanced treatments to lower-income patients and communities.

The federal government created the 340B program in 1992 to partially cover hospitals’ costs of providing uncompensated and undercompensated care, without using taxpayer dollars. In return for participating in the program, pharmaceutical companies are able to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid drug markets.

The 340B program allows hospitals that care for large numbers of low-income and uninsured patients to acquire pharmaceutical drugs at discounted prices. Hospitals must qualify for the program, and 10 of UCHealth’s hospitals qualify because they provide a disproportionate share of care for low-income, uninsured, Medicaid or Medicare patients, or because they serve a rural area of our state. Savings from the program do not cover losses associated with Medicaid or undercompensated care, but they do help minimize those losses, making it possible for us to provide advanced treatments and services to the most vulnerable and underserved individuals in our communities. This improves health equity and expands access to superior health care in communities throughout Colorado.

With assistance from the 340B program, UCHealth is able to provide numerous services including:

  • More availability to primary care providers, social workers and case managers.
  • Broader access to organ transplants, immunotherapies, advanced cancer care, neurology treatments and cardiovascular specialty care.
  • Lower-cost, advanced cancer treatments including CAR T-cell therapy and numerous infusion center locations.
  • Access to high-cost, specialized drugs that treat complex conditions, including orphan drugs.
  • Convenient pharmacy services including 24/7 retail locations, mail delivery options, and prescription services for those leaving our hospitals.
  • Clinical pharmacists within high-risk clinics to support improved patient access and outcomes.
  • Expanded financial assistance for patients in need.
  • Partnerships with community-based organizations to improve health.
  • Additional programs that address social determinants of health including food insecurity.

Potential impacts of scaling back the 340B program

UCHealth is a nonprofit organization, separate and distinct from the University of Colorado, and we receive no funding from the Colorado general fund.

Improving health equity and serving patients with advanced medical needs, regardless of their ability to pay, are at the heart of UCHealth’s mission of improving lives. Even with the 340B program, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements often do not cover the discounted acquisition cost of drugs.

Drug pricing discounts and benefits from the 340B program allow UCHealth to expand access to lifesaving treatments and provide specialty services that otherwise would not be financially viable. Without the federal 340B program, UCHealth would be forced to cut back and restrict access to these critical services. The program’s discounts on outpatient drugs also help us absorb the rapidly rising costs of prescription medications.

Scaling back the 340B program would boost the profits of pharmaceutical companies while harming those hospitals that provide the largest amounts of care to patients who are covered by Medicaid, are uninsured, and/or who live in rural areas of Colorado.